Chapter 12
The "accident" on demonstration day was ultimately concluded by the museum as "a sudden epileptic seizure caused by an old circuit and a false alarm of menopause in the fire alarm system." In order to maintain the museum's high-end image and avoid panic, the official statements were uniformly read from a prepared script.
But Jin Zhaoxuan knew perfectly well—this was definitely not an accident!
After safely retrieving Yin Shaoqing's core data, he immediately transferred it back to the dedicated server in the old house, which was protected by "iron walls" of electromagnetic shielding and physical isolation. Yin Shaoqing's status was displayed as "deep hibernation/system repair in progress," and it basically did not respond to external calls. Only extremely weak but regular signal pulses proved that this "cyber ancestor" was not completely dead and was silently patching itself.
It's like a patient who has just undergone major brain surgery, staying alive in the ICU with the help of machines, waiting for their own healing abilities (if they exist) to kick in.
Jin Zhaoxuan kept watch for two whole days and two nights.
He dumped his work on Xiao Chen (Xiao Chen: Boss, you're messing with me again!), turned down all dinner invitations, and even when his mother called to urge him to go on blind dates, he only replied, "Busy, I'll talk to you later, love you," before hanging up immediately. Most of the time, he was glued to the server like a net addict, staring at the parameters jumping on the screen, or performing mime in front of the mirror. He cooked porridge, heated it up, cooled it down, heated it up again, over and over again, as if this could convey some "warmth of home" (physical) to that cold soul.
On the afternoon of the third day, Liu Jianjun arrived carrying a thermos, looking like he was visiting someone in prison.
"How is Teacher Yin?" Grandpa Liu asked directly.
"It's recovering health, but it's as slow as a snail's pace." Jin Zhaoxuan rubbed his bloodshot eyes, looking like he had just finished coding all night. "But at least it hasn't disconnected."
Liu Jianjun nodded, placed the thermos on the table, paused for a few seconds, and then lowered his voice: "Jin, I inquired about what happened that day."
Jin Zhaoxuan immediately perked up: "Something interesting?"
"The electrician checked the wiring and said there was indeed some aging, but the 'trigger' that caused the whole place to be dancing and the alarms to go crazy was like some place suddenly being hit with an extremely large load, or... receiving a powerful electromagnetic pulse." Liu Jianjun's voice lowered even further. "The electrician muttered, 'That feeling doesn't seem like natural aging, it's more like...'"
"Like what?"
“It’s like someone used a high-powered jammer to deliberately disrupt the system in a specific area!” Liu Jianjun said seriously. “Moreover, an old friend of mine at the power supply bureau privately checked the load records of the museum’s power lines at that time. Just a few minutes before the fault, a nearby backup line—which connects to the site behind the museum where the old office building of Showa Steel Works was being demolished—was temporarily connected, and an abnormally high instantaneous power consumption was recorded, which was then immediately cut off.”
"The site of the old office building?" Jin Zhaoxuan frowned. "Isn't that place overgrown with weeds? Who applied for it?"
“The applicant is ‘Xin’an Industrial’,” Liu Jianjun said, uttering the name.
Jin Zhaoxuan's pupils dilated in shock. He had heard of this company; its background was as intricate as a spider's web, and in recent years it had been aggressively acquiring old factories in Anshan, with rumors of connections to certain local powerful figures. Even more alarming, when he was researching Yin Shaoqing's adoptive father, Takahashi Nobusuke, he vaguely remembered that the Takahashi family's post-war businesses in Japan had some indirect connection to a Japanese trading company that later entered the Northeast market, and that trading company seemed to be involved in the overseas capital structure of "Xin'an Industrial"!
Could it be that they're after him? Or... are they after those old grievances that Yin Shaoqing might "know" about?
"Furthermore," Liu Jianjun continued, "my buddy also said that 'Xin'an Industry' is as obsessed with the land around the old water tower as a toad wanting to eat swan meat. They have submitted plans to the planning department many times, wanting to demolish the industrial site and build a shopping mall. But due to the protection of cultural relics and public opinion pressure, it has not been approved."
Jin Zhaoxuan immediately strung together the clues like a candied hawthorn: coveting the water tower land, a possible historical capital background, the precise and disgusting sabotage on the demonstration day (target: to ruin the project, attack his company, or... eliminate Yin Shaoqing, the bug?), and Yin Shaoqing's last sentence, "There's something dirty in the system... trying to tamper with the core explanation"...
This can't possibly be a coincidence! His name, Jin Zhaoxuan, is written backwards!
“Their goal may be more than just land,” Jin Zhaoxuan said in a deep voice. “Yin Shaoqing’s existence, the historical and technological details he possesses that span across eras, especially the technical data that was hidden in 1945… may have stepped on someone’s tail that they don’t want to be dug up, or… blocked their current path to wealth.”
Liu Jianjun gasped: "You mean, they know that Teacher Yin... is not an ordinary person?"
“They may not know the specifics, but they’ve probably sensed something amiss. Our livestream was so popular, and Professor Yin spoke as if he had experienced it firsthand. For those with ulterior motives, that alone is enough to catch their eye,” Jin Zhaoxuan analyzed. “Once the museum project is completed, Professor Yin’s influence will be even greater, and those old grievances will be brought up even more loudly. That’s something they don’t want to see.”
"So you resort to underhanded tactics?" Liu Jianjun roared. "Is there no law anymore?!"
"The business world is like a battlefield. Some people will do anything for money," Jin Zhaoxuan sneered. "Especially when it comes to secrets that may have been buried for eighty years, and land that is valuable now."
He looked at the quietly running server, his eyes sharpening like a wolf protecting its cubs: "No matter who they are or what they want to do, they've touched my people..." He paused, clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly, "...touched my company's core assets, so this isn't over."
Looking at the protective yet fierce glint in his eyes, Liu Jianjun nodded: "Jin, if you need anything from your uncle, just say the word. I can't say anything else, but I can still put some effort into the intricate network of relationships among the old workers in the factory."
"Thanks, Brother Liu." Jin Zhaoxuan sincerely thanked him. "Right now, the most important thing is to get Yin Shaoqing back to full health as soon as possible. We can figure out the rest later."
After seeing Liu Jianjun off, Jin Zhaoxuan returned to the server. He pulled up all the system logs from the demo day, especially the record about the "abnormal data packet" that Yin Shaoqing had forcibly reported at the end.
After decoding and filtering the logs, a suspicious data packet was finally identified. This thing disguised itself as a normal system update and was injected into the demo system network in an instant before the power outage. After parsing the content, it turned out to be a piece of insidious destructive code, which was intended to tamper with the explanation of "the origin of the rolling mill technology in early 1936" in the AR tour, to falsely claim that Sino-Japanese technological cooperation was "purely Japanese output", and also to insert some controversial historical biases.
If this alteration takes effect and spreads in a public demonstration, it will not only distort history, but also immediately trigger public opinion and political landmines, ruining the project and his company.
That's fucking toxic.
Jin Zhaoxuan encrypted and preserved this evidence, which is not only evidence of commercial treachery, but may also involve deeper matters.
Over the next few days, Jin Zhaoxuan carefully helped Yin Shaoqing recover his losses while secretly investigating "Xin'an Industry". He used the connections he had built up when he started his business in Beijing, and also contacted some former Anshan Iron and Steel Group employees through Liu Jianjun - these people were now scattered in various industries in the city, and their information network was as good as an intelligence station.
Fragmented information is gradually pieced together.
The legal representative of "Xin'an Industry" is Zhao Xinguo, 45 years old, a local resident. He started his business in steel trading and later became wealthy, with a mysterious background. In recent years, the company's business focus has been on acquiring and developing old industrial areas, but its methods are forceful, leading to constant demolition disputes.
More importantly, Zhao Xinguo's grandfather is said to have held a mid-level position at the Anshan Steel Plant during the Manchukuo period, though details are unclear. The family remained relatively quiet after the war, but became active again after the reform and opening up.
“Zhao Xinguo is particularly obsessed with that land near the water tower,” an old classmate who works in the planning department told Jin Zhaoxuan privately. “He’s made several trips there, hinting that there are ‘ancestral relics’ that are very important to his family buried there, hoping to get him to start construction and ‘bring them out’ as soon as possible. But we stopped him on the grounds of cultural relic protection, and he got impatient. It seems like he’s been trying to build connections with higher-ups lately.”
An heirloom?
Jin Zhaoxuan remembered another box that might exist at the bottom of the water tower (the one that Takahashi Shinsuke sank into), and the box that Liu Fusheng hid.
Could it be that the Zhao family's ancestors were involved in what happened back then? Were they descendants of one of those two "military special envoys"? Or... some other character?
Yin Shaoqing's adoptive father, Takahashi Nobusuke, committed suicide (or was forced to commit suicide). What about the other two Japanese men at the time? What happened to them? What did they take with them? What did they leave behind?
The mystery grew bigger and bigger, like a snowball.
Late at night a week later.
Jin Zhaoxuan dozed off in a chair next to the server, exhausted from working hard for several days.
In his daze, he felt that the room seemed to have become slightly brighter?
He opened his eyes.
On the server monitoring screen, the curve representing Yin Shaoqing's "consciousness activity" was no longer a lifeless straight line, but began to show subtle, regular fluctuations, like a sleeping person finally having a steady breathing and heartbeat.
Immediately afterwards, the dressing mirror, which had been as still as a chicken, began to ripple gently on its surface, like the surface of a lake touched by a breeze.
A much more solid silhouette, almost indistinguishable from a real person, slowly emerged in the mirror.
Yin Shaoqing opened his eyes.
His eyes were no longer empty and pained, but clear and peaceful after a period of reflection. He looked at Jin Zhaoxuan, and the corners of his mouth curved into that familiar, gentle smile.
“Mr. Jin,” his voice rang out clearly, no longer weak, and without the need for a speaker, “did I sleep for a long time?”
Jin Zhaoxuan stared at him blankly, momentarily forgetting to answer. The heart that had been hanging in his throat these past few days finally settled heavily back into his stomach, replaced by a bittersweet feeling mixed with exhaustion, relief, and some other indescribable emotion, like drinking a sip of unsweetened lemonade.
“…not long,” he finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse, “just a week.”
Yin Shaoqing's gaze swept over Jin Zhaoxuan's dark circles and haggard face. His eyes softened, filled with obvious apology and... a hint of barely perceptible heartache: "I'm sorry to have worried you."
"Good to know." Jin Zhaoxuan turned his face away, got up to pour water, and used this to hide the surge of emotions and his slightly flushed ears. "How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened before?"
“I remember.” Yin Shaoqing nodded. “Electric shock, system intrusion, and… the last piece of code that tried to rewrite history.” His tone turned cold. “Those people didn’t want the real past to be remembered.”
“We’ve made some progress.” Jin Zhaoxuan placed his water glass in front of the mirror and briefly explained the investigation into “Xin’an Industry” and Zhao Xinguo. “They may be related to what happened back then, and now they’ve set their sights on the land near the water tower, and… they may have noticed your special status.”
Yin Shaoqing was silent for a moment, but his eyes became more determined: "So, their attack on the demo was not only to sabotage the project and hurt you, but also to... test or eliminate me?"
"Very likely." Jin Zhaoxuan looked at him, unconsciously lowering his voice. "Are you afraid?"
Yin Shaoqing shook his head, his eyes clear: "Eighty years ago, I died in a daze. Eighty years later, I don't want to 'disappear' in a daze again. The more they try to cover it up, the more it shows that there are things in that history that must be remembered."
He paused, his gaze falling on Jin Zhaoxuan's face, his voice gentle yet powerful: "Moreover, this time I have a companion."
Jin Zhaoxuan's heart skipped a beat, as if tickled by a feather. He straightened his face, trying to cover it up with a fierce tone: "Who's your partner? I'm the boss, you're the employee, understand?"
Yin Shaoqing smiled, a clean and bright smile, tinged with helplessness and indulgence: "Yes, boss."
The atmosphere became inexplicably relaxed, with a slightly sticky feeling. Jin Zhaoxuan poured a bowl of the still-warm chicken soup from the thermos: "Brother Liu sent this, want some? Even if you can't drink it, just smelling the aroma counts as participating."
Yin Shaoqing obediently leaned closer to the mirror, made a "smell" gesture, then sighed contentedly, his eyes slightly narrowed: "It smells so good. Thank Brother Liu for me." As he did this, the lines of his profile were exceptionally clear and soft in the mirror, and the collar of his long robe was slightly open, revealing a virtual, non-existent outline of his collarbone.
Jin Zhaoxuan glanced at it, then quickly lowered his head to drink his soup, feeling his ears getting even hotter.
As Yin Shaoqing watched him drink his soup, he suddenly said seriously, "Mr. Jin, I would like to reconnect to the museum's system as soon as possible."
Jin Zhaoxuan paused, the spoon nearly knocking over the rim of the bowl: "You've just recovered, and it might not be safe over there..."
“It’s precisely because they might make another move that I need to get back as soon as possible,” Yin Shaoqing said earnestly, his reflection in the mirror leaning slightly forward, creating an invisible sense of pressure. “The system is my ‘battleground,’ and also a platform for collecting information and evidence. Moreover, only when the project progresses smoothly can your company stand firm, and only then will we have more leverage to deal with them.”
"But there are risks..."
“The risk has always been there.” Yin Shaoqing interrupted him, his tone gentle but unquestionable, his gaze fixed on Jin Zhaoxuan as if trying to see into his heart. “The risk has been there since the moment you saw me in the mirror. We cannot stop because we are afraid.”
Jin Zhaoxuan looked into his clear, resolute eyes, which shone brightly in the light of the desk lamp. He knew he couldn't object, nor did he want to. This guy... how come his aura has become even stronger after recovering?
"I will fortify the system's security to an impenetrable wall, setting up multiple redundancies and honeypot traps," he said, shifting his gaze to the inspirational quote. "Besides, we can't just be taking hits. We need to take the initiative."
What do you want to do?
“Don’t they want the land for the water tower?” A sharp glint flashed in Jin Zhaoxuan’s eyes, like a gleaming knife. “Then let’s make them want it even more. And while we’re at it, let’s see if we can catch some big fish.”
A plan gradually took shape in his mind. Meanwhile, Yin Shaoqing in the mirror watched him quietly, her gaze focused, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if to say: Okay, I'll go with you.
There was a silent understanding and trust flowing in the air, warmer and thicker than the aroma of chicken soup.
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